The Mech Touch

Ves, who still wore his Unending Regalia, sank down on a couch as a small storm raged in his mind.

He was in no mood to study and admire the clean and elegant decor of Calabast’s office compartment. The abstract art, the visages of different alien landscapes and most curiously the tasteful statues of black cats did not catch his attention at all at the moment.

He was too preoccupied with wrapping his head around the huge scheme that Calabast had unveiled!

Her proposal to compete directly against one of the top mech designers of the Krakatoa Star Sector sounded so daring that Ves questioned whether this was still the calculating woman he knew!

While Ves remained in turmoil, Calabast looked as composed as ever. She even brought out a bottle of liquor and poured herself a drink.

“Would you like a glass?”

“No thanks. I don’t feel like impairing my judgment right now. I need to maintain a clear mind.”

The spymaster shrugged and began to take a sip even as she sauntered towards where Ves was seated.

Calabast oozed confidence and superiority even when she was garbed in her infiltrator outfit. Though she hung all kinds of gadgets on her torso, the shiny material covering her legs looked smooth and tantalizing.

She stood in front of Ves as she sipped her strong drink. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“What are your thoughts about designing an ECM and communication mech that can directly compete against the Xaxu Specter series?”

“I already told you that you’re crazy for thinking about doing such. We are talking about beating mechs designed by a pair of Masters!”

“So?”

“I’m just a Journeyman!”

“And has that ever stopped you before?” Calabast raised her eyebrow. “You never displayed much hesitation when you designed mechs such as the Blessed Squire, the Valkyrie Redeemer, the Cherub, the Bright Boy and the Devious. Each of them have contributed significantly to the Hex Army’s struggles against the Fridayman mech units. The Hexers prefer to pilot them over several mech models developed by their own Masters, who are all female by the way. Your mechs are holding their own against professional military mech models. Their performance might not entirely be up to par, but their unique properties are indispensable.”

“You’re right, Calabast, but that is a different situation. The Komodo War is a distant affair. Whatever waves I’ve made with my work is unlikely to reach all the way to the Red Ocean. I can’t act carelessly here. The mech companies that have managed to climb on top of the mech markets so soon are anything but average. These are powerful companies that can exert all kinds of pressure on their competitors. The profits may be great, but risks are greater!”

The spymaster adopted a disappointed expression. “Where are your guts? Where is your fighting spirit? You have taken one risk after another for as long as I have known you. There were instances where I needed to clean up after your messes, but your successes are undeniable. I have given you the roadmap to earn more profit at this early stage of your career.”

“This ‘roadmap’ of yours leads straight to hell!”

“Hell is a natural environment for the infamous Devil Tongue.” Calabast smugly quipped. “Do not tell me that this course of action is unfeasible. According to my understanding of your design capabilities, it should not be a challenge for you to transplant the strongest features of your Cherub and the Signal Bearer mechs into a commercial ECM mech design. Do you understand what that means? The technical hurdles that are practically impossible to overcome for other mech designers can easily be overcome by your design philosophy!”

“Just because I can doesn’t mean I should!”

“Has that ever stopped you from making stupid decisions?”

“I take calculated risks!”

The woman turned serious. “Then I do not see why you are opposed to this idea. The risks you are afraid of are real, but they are not insurmountable. As long as we formulate a plan and solicit enough support, it is within our capabilities to compete against Tiamon Dynamics.”

“Explain, Calabast. What makes you so confident that we can challenge a behemoth and win?”

“First, you need to design the promised ECM and communication mech. For other mech designers, this is the most difficult step by far, but for you it should probably be an easy one. Just make sure you put in the effort and try to come as close as possible to the specs of the Xaxu Specter.”

“Which variant?” Ves asked. “There are over fifty different versions of the Xaxu Specter and that only accounts for the standardized models.”

“There is no need for you to challenge all of these variants.” Calabast said. “You don’t have the manpower and design resources to cover all of these areas. Just focus on competing against a small group of variants. The premium market should be your goal. The main feature of your ECM mech should be incredibly valuable, so it should be priced accordingly. It should be enough for you to design a landbound and a spaceborn variant.”

That amounted to two models in total. Calabast had chosen well. While the proposed products would not be the most affordable ones on the market, they covered the needs of the vast majority of customers.

Those with larger budgets would not blink an eye before they ordered an entire batch of the mechs! Inferior technical specifications were irrelevant as long as its killer feature delivered on its promises!

Those with smaller budgets would definitely be willing to splurge on a mech that provided reliable, long-ranged, untraceable and unblockable communications!

Ves understood the implications of this constrained approach. The LMC did not seek to replace the Xaxu Specter line entirely. The more specialized and unusual variants still possessed a lot of value in specific situations. These models should still sell decently well.

However, that did not change the fact that his own offering had the potential to dethrone the Xaxu Specter and usurp the kingdom that Master Pariant Hao had painstakingly built!

No mech designer wanted to be used as a foil for a competitor. It would be exceptionally humiliating for a Master Mech Designer to suffer a major defeat at the hands of a Journeyman!

“Then what?” He pressed. “Suppose I design two different versions of an ECM mech that checks all of your boxes. What is our marketing strategy? Assuming we have our production in order, how will we get customers to believe our mechs are worthwhile for them to procure?”

“It should not be difficult to prove the value of your new products. Hold a press conference. Show of what the mechs can do. Loan out the copies to potential customers. Contact as many media platforms as possible. Don’t be afraid to spend a few thousand MTA credits on the marketing campaign. It will all pay back in an instant once sales begin to skyrocket.”

It cost a lot of money to rise above the noise in the mech market. There were too many mech companies who were trying to hawk their products every hour of the day.

“Okay.” Ves said and frowned. “I can see how this can work out, but do you really think we can continue to sell tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of copies with impunity? Tiamon Dynamics will not sit still. The company will attack us and pressure us in various ways.”

“I am sure Tiamon will try, but we aren’t pushovers. Our mech company is sound. Once I have finished training my Black Cats, I will transfer enough personnel to the LMC’s headquarters in Davute. That will improve its ability to defend itself against corporate rivals. Besides, no amount of background maneuvering can fool customers entirely. They aren’t stupid. The advantages of our new products are too great. Those who refuse to follow suit will slowly realize that they have fallen behind!”

Ves shook his head. He did not dare to be complacent.

“Our competitors aren’t stupid either. Master Mech Designers are incredibly capable and there is always one among them that can counter my products. The reason why my Cherub model has remained effective is because the Friday Coalition only has a limited number of Master Mech Designers. Of those esteemed mech designers, just a fraction of them specialize in the relevant fields! The chances that any of them are able to mess with my exclusive communication networks is slim.”

“Isn’t that great news?”

“Not if the scope of the competition gets bigger.” Ves replied. “If we proceed with your master plan, our new ECM mech models will not just provoke Tiamon Dynamics, but every other mech company in the Red Ocean that relies heavily on selling similar mechs! It doesn’t matter if they are based in the other zones because as soon as they hear about our products, they will know that it will only be a matter of time before they are sold beyond Krakatoa! Not only will the Masters behind these companies get pissed at me, they will also pool their efforts together to develop a counter against my mechs! With so many top mech designers working together, the chances that they will succeed is extremely high!”

The Friday Coalition already had limited successes in countering his products. While they weren’t practical or all that effective, they learned a couple of crucial lessons that the more formidable group of Masters in the Red Ocean could build upon!

“I am not versed in this area, so I cannot comment on the success rate.” Calabast said as she emptied her glass. “What I can tell you is that the emergence of a counter is hardly the end for your products. First, in order for this counter to be effective, it has to be bought and used by customers. Second, your mechs will still be effective when deployed against alien forces and put into use in hazardous environments. Third, you can design a response against this counter.”

“That will turn into an arms race that I don’t want. If we don’t enter this murky pool, we won’t provoke all of these Masters into developing a counter against the communication functions of my spiritual networks. This will ensure that our clan will always maintain an advantage over any opponent we collide against. Our Signal Bearers will be able to relay transmissions with complete confidence because third parties have rarely confronted them directly.”

Calabast sighed in exasperation.

“I can understand your logic, but your lack of competitive drive will bite you one day. What if we are confronted by an enemy who not only understands us thoroughly, but also invested a lot of effort into negating our Signal Bearer model? Our mech forces will be caught off-guard in a critical situation. If we have already gone through this cycle of developing counters and responses to them, our mech forces will be in a better position if anything happens.”

She was right, but only in a part of the cases.

“If I fail to develop an effective response, then we can pretty much scrap our Signal Bearers and lose an excellent advantage against human opponents.” He glowered.

“That is the risk that you will have to take.” Calabast simply responded as she tossed her empty glass over her shoulder.

The glass followed an artificial trajectory until it landed in the middle of her desk.

“What is important to us is the enormous sums of money that we have earned.” She stated. “Whether Master Parian Hao and your other competitors are able to develop a counter will heavily affect the future sales of your products. Yet even if our profits drop to 1 percent, we still come out on top in the end. Imagine how many mechs we have sold in the months before a counter has emerged. Earning at least 1 million MTA credits should be the minimum. Earning 10 million MTA credits is doable. This is our true reward! Earning more is no longer necessary because we have enough capital to upgrade our entire fleet and deepen our foundation in the Red Ocean. Once we have digested this enormous harvest, our clan will no longer be a pawn anymore. We will finally have the qualifications to assume the identity of a player.”

Ves realized that this was the ultimate goal of Calabast’s scheme. Earning lots of money was just a means to an end to her. The true purpose of taking all of these risks was to elevate the status of the Larkinson Clan!